Jinxman Posted November 30, 2020 Share Posted November 30, 2020 Heavy duty stuff - I'd have destroyed that u/c by now without a doubt. 😉 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AdrianMF Posted November 30, 2020 Share Posted November 30, 2020 The cowling transplant looks good! Regards, Adrian Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RidgeRunner Posted November 30, 2020 Author Share Posted November 30, 2020 2 hours ago, Jinxman said: Heavy duty stuff - I'd have destroyed that u/c by now without a doubt. 😉 In truth I did dislodge it. Fortunately it was not a breakage. Superglue and a cocktail stick to the rescue 2 hours ago, AdrianMF said: The cowling transplant looks good! Regards, Adrian Thanks Adrian. It needs more refinement but I'll get there. Martin Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Wez Posted November 30, 2020 Share Posted November 30, 2020 This is looking good Martin, all that effort is coming together nicely. That undercarriage looks good too! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RidgeRunner Posted December 1, 2020 Author Share Posted December 1, 2020 On 11/30/2020 at 5:16 PM, Wez said: This is looking good Martin, all that effort is coming together nicely. That undercarriage looks good too! Thanks Wez! I'll be moving up a gear now that the UM is done :). Yes, the undercart is very good. I just have to tip-toe around it to avoid any more prangs! Martin Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RidgeRunner Posted December 21, 2020 Author Share Posted December 21, 2020 Blimey, is that the date!!! Having got to a hiatus with my current MiG I am back on the LeO! Today it was a bit more sanding, having already got one of the engine nacelles already nearly tidy. The work is not extensive today but I hope that by tomorrow I'll have more to report. I have tidied the landing light locations and inserted some rod to simulate lights. The small intake just outside of the nacelles has been filled and sanded too. I have also removed the wing raised "panel lines". More tomorrow (I hope), when I will - among other things - take a look at the resin cowlings to see if they are a better fit than the Daks copies I have. Martin 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RidgeRunner Posted December 22, 2020 Author Share Posted December 22, 2020 A bit more done! I firstly finished sanding the engine nacelles and tidying the wings - seams, "panel lines", etc. I then dry fitted the Dak cowlings. I think they will be better than the resin versions I have. I will need to add the intake on top and so I'll hunt for a suitable drop tanks to modify for this. I've also been around the fuselage and tidied the main seams, sanded down the green filler I used in places (such as the tail empenage), removed the "panel lines" and tidied up the tailplanes. Thereafter send had a good hoovering (with my Dyson ) to remove the dust that sat within. Before doing this I used a fine bottle brush to loosen as much as I could. After that I re-attached the transparency for the dorsal position. I removed it because dust had built up on the inside. I used Kristal Klear to re-attach and then sealed externally with more KK. I polished the upper nose transparency with Tamiya Polishing compound after sanding down with very fine sanding sticks. The actual transparency is much larger than the real item on the aircraft so the mask was cut to compensate. The next job was to fill the side windows. For this I used KK again. The small windows needed only one application while the others need(ed) two or three layers. In the image below you can se the latest layers curing. My plan is to build up the KK to get a flat finish. I will then mask each so that I get uniform sizes of window once painted. The next jobs will be to go over the airframe with fine Milliput and PPP to fill blemishes. After that the vacform canopies will need to be cut out and installed. Once installed and sealed I will get the wings mated to the fuselage and then start on the engines. Almost certainly this will be post-25th. Here are some on the AIA line. You can see the engine detail. Have a good one, one and all!! 🎄 Martin Martin 5 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TonyOD Posted December 22, 2020 Share Posted December 22, 2020 This is looking fantastic. I am deeply covetous of those landing gears. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RidgeRunner Posted January 5, 2021 Author Share Posted January 5, 2021 My first work on the LeO in 2021 :). I started yesterday, masking and cutting the Falcon vacform canopy. A tedious task that ultimately ended with me not using them! I'm really not adept or skillful at such things and while the cockpit canopy looked okay the two-part nose glazing would, I think, end up looking a mess. So, I opted to use the kit parts and duly got them cemented in place, using a little ultra thin (very carefully) and then Kristal Klear. It was left over night. I also tried to mask the small side windows, which I had already filled with Kristal Klear. Again, I spent an hour or two cutting various masks and trying to get them to stick but to no success. So, another backward step and I removed the KK from each window I will now paint and fill at the end. Today it has been a matter of getting the joins betwen the fuselage and canopies to be okay and I then started on the next tedious task - masking the nose. The framing that is moulded in to the parts is very faint and so it was impossible to apply tape, push it in to the framing and cut. I therefore had to use multiple small pieces. I got as far as the nose cone only. I need to give my eyes and my patience a rest! I'll tackle the cockpit canopy later this week. Martin 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
roginoz Posted January 5, 2021 Share Posted January 5, 2021 Just a suggestion Martin @RidgeRunner, - for small windows like that, I tend to use an initial fill of KK to block the egress of paint and at the end of the build, cut out the now painted over Kk and replace it with a new filling to dry clear. Enjoying your build and gonna have to find a kit of this interesting aircraft. Best.......Rog Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RidgeRunner Posted January 5, 2021 Author Share Posted January 5, 2021 I got my big boy's pants on and tackled the last canopy It is a bit rough here and there but will be okay (I hope!) Martin 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RidgeRunner Posted January 5, 2021 Author Share Posted January 5, 2021 Having got all that done I thought I'd get some assembling done too, so I added the wings! I still have more filling to do here and there plus an unexpected adjustment of the undercarriage as she was slightly lop-sided! :(. As you can see, and based on Roger's suggestion, I used KK to fill the small windows again prior to painting. I am certain that I will, after priming, find more glitches. Let's see! Martin I'm going to tag this for Giorgio @Giorgio N so he knows that his efforts aren't being wasted . Also adding James @1903flight for the same reason 5 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fightersweep Posted January 5, 2021 Share Posted January 5, 2021 A whole airframe! The LeO is looking fab and nice to see it looking so complete and up on her feet. The LeO is not a kit I have in the stash yet, so it's nice to see what the kit, and aircraft for that matter, looks like from all angles. I think I may have to add one to the stash now. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TonyOD Posted January 5, 2021 Share Posted January 5, 2021 That's looking fantastic @RidgeRunner, great to see it coming along. 3 hours ago, fightersweep said: I think I may have to add one to the stash now. What's this "may" nonsense? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fightersweep Posted January 5, 2021 Share Posted January 5, 2021 19 minutes ago, TonyOD said: What's this "may" nonsense? Fair point. Safe to say that you can substitute "may" for "will". 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Richard Tucker Posted January 6, 2021 Share Posted January 6, 2021 I'm still following this one. It is really coming together and looks good. I know where the Smer boxing is in my stash but I think it will be the Me262 or Morane Saulnier MS230 for me next once I finally finish the Tempest and Breguet 693's. After all the masking needed for this one, I might do the MS230 with its tiny windscreen I don't envy your masking on the Leo. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RidgeRunner Posted January 6, 2021 Author Share Posted January 6, 2021 11 hours ago, Richard Tucker said: After all the masking needed for this one, I actually overdid it, Richard. I now realise that, as part of the mods at AIA, the upper rear portion of the cockpit canopy was replaced by a one piece opaque glazing. A sun protection measure, I guess. You can actually see these parts removed in the workshop photo above. Martin Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RidgeRunner Posted January 8, 2021 Author Share Posted January 8, 2021 Hi all, I've had a morning of wrestling with undercarriage trains plus some filling as needed. As I mentioned previously, I discovered that she sat slightly lop-sided when I got the wings on. The wings fit well so I knew it wasnt them. I discvered that my lovely undercarriage train assemblies hadnt settled equally. As these have to be insterted before wing assembly there is little room for manoeuvre. I therefore had a fun-filled hour or so trying to unstick the port leg, move it as best as I could, and re-glue (Superglue). It isnt as I'd like it but I cant get it any better. Now it is about 1.5mm higher on the port side, wing tip to wing tip. Then it was a matter of going around with PPP and my bottle of dissolved sprue ("Gloop") and attending to as many of the imperfections as I could. With the PPP, of course, it is great for small gaps where you can apply, dry and remove excess with a wet cotton bud. The Gloop demands some masking to avoid contact beyond the intended target area. This was mainly the wing joints. I prefer this as it adds strengthen over PPP or other fillers. I have also wiped dilted PPP around to fill some micro holes, particularly on the sanded engine nacelles. I now need to leave here until Monday so that the Gloop can cure. Engine nacelle with diluted PPP applied with a cotton bud. I will sand this once dry. The masked and filled wing joint on the starboard side (you can see that I dobbed a little accidentally on the fuselage :(. It'll sand away later.You can also see the upper turret. It has had the same treatment as the engine nacelles. a forward view As she is now, waiting for curing of the Gloop. On Monday I should get her sanded and primed! Martin 3 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fightersweep Posted January 8, 2021 Share Posted January 8, 2021 Great work Martin. Safe to say that this kit doesn't exactly appear to be plain sailing and requires lashings of old skool modelling skills Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RidgeRunner Posted January 8, 2021 Author Share Posted January 8, 2021 Tony??? @fightersweep Yes, you are right, mate. It is certainly a challenge and I am realising over time that the early strife over shape and accuracy were trivial . Of course, much of the work has been around the mods and not the base kit. Martin Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fightersweep Posted January 8, 2021 Share Posted January 8, 2021 8 minutes ago, RidgeRunner said: Tony??? Sorry! No idea what happened there. Must have been a brain fart! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RidgeRunner Posted January 8, 2021 Author Share Posted January 8, 2021 3 minutes ago, fightersweep said: Sorry! No idea what happened there. Must have been a brain fart! I have those often ;). No probs Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RidgeRunner Posted January 8, 2021 Author Share Posted January 8, 2021 I did a little more :). Firstly I built the Airfix R1830 (C-47/DC-3) engines that I'd kindly got from @1903flight. I've toyed with the idea of adding detail but I think they look pretty good already so I wont. They will be behind pretty hefty spinners anyway. They will fit on to the nacelles once I have cleaned up them up (the nacelles). I then need to work out the correct point for the exhaust, thereafter cutting a shallow trough in the outer side of each nacelle to accomodate this. It will also mean some mods to the cowling (DC-3/C-47) - see below. I then cut out the resin cowlings that I bought and have found that they have been on a diet! The radials dont fit and they look too thin. See below: C-47/DC-3 LEFT and Resin RIGHT The eagle eyed amongst you will have noticed the scoop on the upper surface of the resin version, which is almost accurate. I have decided to use the DC-3/C-47 cowligs and add the scoop from a spare drop tank (from the spares pot). These will have to be fitted after the radials and their surrounds have been painted to allow for the Airfix assemble tabs. I'll get the resin wheels tidied up too Martin 3 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RidgeRunner Posted January 12, 2021 Author Share Posted January 12, 2021 A little more done on the LeO today. Much of it centred around cleaning up the various points at which I'd filled with Gloop (dissolved sprue) or PPP. The latter is easy, of course, but the Gloop wasa little more stubborn. I have got to a point in which I now need to see the detail of any glitches. Therefore I've gone for the primer and given her a blast of very thin Humbrol 1 (enamel). I'm not in favour of thick primer coats,preferring something that resembles skimmed milk, shot finely at low pressure, acccentuating the areas that need more inspection. You can see that I also got the R1830s on too. I've also primed the fin/rudder assembies as well as the DC-3/C-47 cowlings. She'll now need a day or two to dry and cure a bit before I handle her again. A couple of things came up while at this stage. Firstly my heavy-handed sanded popped a seam along the lower fuselage. I cemented it with "Extra Thin" and will clean up later. I have also noticed that I've made an error regarding the windows. There was actually an additional small one - almost square - just above the wing root at the rear of the wing. I really can't wrestle with her anymore and so, given they are small, I'll use some black decal to mimic these. The wing-fuselage joins were surprisingly neat and needed almost no filler! It is here that I used the most Gloop, to add strength. That'll be it for a few days..... Martin 3 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Johnson Posted January 13, 2021 Share Posted January 13, 2021 Nice work Martin! On 1/12/2021 at 3:10 PM, RidgeRunner said: It is here that I used the most Gloop, to add strength Er... interesting stuff you use 'gloop'. How do you make it? Cheers, Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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